Can you tell us about your sporting career and more specifically your career at voile??
When I was a child, I was a jack-of-all-trades. I've done a lot of sports. The first sport I became passionate about was hockey. At the same time, I was already doing a lot of water sports, especially bodyboarding and surfing. The desire to go boating caught me when I couldn't do a hockey study sport.
So you didn't follow the classic course, with a course of study in the voile? course?
No. When I started sailing at 16, I was envious of his young people who were Laser sailors, who had done Optimist... It made me want to, it already fascinated me. I started late, in high school, in the second grade. On the other hand, I have integrated a training path for instructors.
I started with the double dinghy in Brest, and I also did some catamarans. Although not competing, the trainers made us sail cleanly. It was ultra-training.
Then, I started teaching courses from the age of 17/18 and continued with a career in boating.
What was your job in nautisme??
I have a technical sales degree and I worked in a ship. I learned a lot, but I realized that I would rather be behind a roof than behind a counter.
I have decided to take my BE ( NDLR: Sailing instructor diploma ) in 2008 at the ENV and I quickly progressed thanks to a great training. Then I was a teacher at INB for 8 years.
How did you get to Mini??
In elementary school, we followed a skipper. Unfortunately, I don't remember the year or the skipper. It was one of the two editions that started in Brest. He had dismasted and I had followed his project closely.
I discovered the Mini this way and I went boating with the dream of doing the Mini. I discovered stories of skippers in Mini, especially Pierre-Yves Lautrou's story about the Pogo 1 L'Express-Okapi. It was a big fantasy for me.
I had had it in my head for quite some time, but I thought it was reserved for the privileged, that it was inaccessible. Then, one day, we find ourselves on a friend's boat, then one day we have our own boat one and the story begins like that.
How long have you been browsing Mini??
I did my first race in 2012. Since then I have participated in at least all the doubles races. Today is my 4th solo season since 2012.
Can you tell us about your palmarès??
I have competed in about 40 races and what I am most proud of is that I have not given up on any of them. Among my best results, I finished 3rd in Les Sables - Les Açores in 2014, while I was in series, on a Pogo 2. It was my first and only podium in the series solo event, the others were in doubles.
These last two years are the best of my career. I won or finished on the podium in all the races on the circuit alone. But above all, I won the Azores. After the Mini, it is the second most emblematic race on the circuit.
What are your strong points, a few weeks before départ??
I think the boat is working well just about all the time. I learned to sail with it and I trust him. Then you're never safe from a problem and it doesn't hold much. I think the boat is reliable, I know it well and I have sailed it a lot. This is a strong point.
I'm comfortable in wind. On a deckchair this is a strong point. Otherwise, I feel good at sea. I'm not a sailor by training, so I'm more comfortable on a long course than on a banana.
Do you think you have the technical skills and the tool to win the Mini Transat??
Yes, I'm going to ça?! If I don't win, it would be a disappointment. I am legitimate to victory. If I have a great race, if I surpass myself and make a podium, seeing that the guys in front have been better, it won't be a shame.
Can you tell us about your main concurrents?? Who do you see in the top 5??
Axel Tréhin with whom I've been fighting on all the races. He has a powerful boat, he is comfortable, has a great mind, knows his boat well and sails very hard. He can beat me. Erwan Le Méné with the 800, a previous generation boat. At certain speeds, he goes very fast. Downwind VMG it goes very strong and in the soft, it is the best boat. Upwind, it goes fast too. If we have to get away from the first stage upwind, he can very well relegate us to the rear. It sails clean and well.
Tanguy Bouroullec can go fast with his hydrofoil boat, but I can't talk about it as much. I've never been side by side with him. But, a priori the boat is successful and sails very well.
After that, there are boats to be wary of, such as Marie Gendron, who is not immune to making a good move, but also Antoine Perrin on the 850, which are boats that in certain conditions go very fast. If you leave the Gulf with 8/10 knots of wind when travelling, they can go very fast. Fabio Muzzolini also has his chances.
These are three boats that can make a big splash, but it's unlikely they'll be in the lead.
Do you still have any weaknesses a few weeks before Mini??
Yes, but I keep them to myself.
What about budget??
I miss 15?000 euros. I have to pay for the return cargo, the rental of the pilot, the costs inherent to the Transat... But the good news is that I still have room on the boat to welcome a sponsor.
